“The Christian faith is not about mere intellectual assent to a set of doctrines, but about a daily walk with this person Jesus. It’s about living in awareness of Christ risen, resurrected, and living in my life. Even though doctrine is important, wisdom in the Bible has more to do with character and the art of living. Christianity is about living out the will of God, and living abundantly.” — Rich Mullins
Tag: God
Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
Hey!
There’s a time and place for everything. For everyone
We can push with all our might, but nothin’s gonna come
Oh no, nothin’s gonna change
An’ if I ask you not to try, oh could you let it be?
I wanna hold you and say
We can’t throw this all away
Tell me you won’t go, you won’t go
You have to hear me say
I can’t stop lovin’ you
And no matter what I say or do
You know my heart is true, oh
I can’t stop lovin’ you
You can change your friends, your place in life
You can change your mind
We can change the things we say, and do any time
Oh no, but I think you’ll find
That when you look inside your heart
Oh baby, I’ll be there. Yeah!
Hold on. I’m holdin’ on
Baby, just come on, come on, come on
I just wanna hear you say
I can’t stop lovin’ you
And no matter what you say or do
You know my heart is true, oh-oh!
I can’t stop lovin’ you
Oh, I’m so twisted and tied
And all I remember, was how hard we tried
Only to surrender
And when it’s over
I know how it’s gonna be
And true love will never die
Or, not fade away
And I can’t stop lovin’ you
And no matter what I say or do
You know my heart is true, oh
I can’t stop lovin’ you
And I know what I got to do
Hey Ray, what you said is true, oh
I can’t stop lovin’ you, oh no
Oh, can’t stop lovin’ you
© Copyright 1995-2000 Van Halen
From VH’s site:
This was the first single from “Balance” and the song became the band’s 16th Top 40 single! The Ray Sammy refers to in the song is Ray Charles, who had a hit with the Don Gibson original, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” in 1962.
By far one of my favorite VH songs, right behind “Dreams.” I love you, sweetheart.
THROUGH THE NIGHT
Hey, I’m the guy who found a treasure in your eyes,
And that’s no surprise. There’s something ’bout you, clearly.
I can’t recall all the ones I met before.
They move on by, and leave me nothing to believe in.
Though the night may grow, the winds may blow.
The rain may fall from out into nowhere…
Through the night you learn what it is to yearn
When you cannot find the girl.
Through the night you feel how it is to kneel,
Asking God for all the world.
Drove all the way to drop a circus in your face.
If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it every day now.
Still, for your smile, I would run another mile
Barefoot and bruised, and laughing all the while.
Well, the rising sun says the night is done.
Yeah, the day will come after the darkness.
Through the night you learn what it is to yearn
When you cannot find the girl.
Through the night you feel how it is to kneel,
Asking God for all the world.
Asking God for all the world.
Asking God for all the world.
— Owen Thomas, © 2002 Birdwing Publishing
I love you.
Beloved children’s programming legend Fred Rogers died early this morning at age 74, from stomach cancer. Song composer, puppeteer, Presbyterian minister–Mr. Rogers’ love for kids took us all, from 1968 to 2001, into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Good-bye, Mr. Rogers, and thank you for being a part of my childhood. You were a blast.
It’s pretty cool when your pastor uses a Monty Python reference in his sermon. In this case, it was the “Department of Redundancy Department.” Tim was talking about how the term “born-again Christian” is redundant, since by definition someone who is a Christian is born again through his new faith in Jesus Christ. He threw in the above Python gag as a further example of said redundancy.
“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” —Proverbs 15:4/NIV, verseoftheday.com
“Americans are a people who have realized a dream of freedom, who have taken it from an abstract hope and turned it into a living reality. What made this possible was a founding generation that understood the essential principles of liberty, and acknowledged from the very beginning that the basis for human justice, human dignity and human rights is no more–nor less–than the will and authority of our Creator, God.
“The importance of this principle is definitive, because it allows us to understand that since we claim our rights by virtue of the authority of God, we must exercise our rights with respect for the authority of God.
“This truth becomes a sound foundation for discipline in our use of our freedoms. It becomes a bulwark against the abuse of our powers. It becomes also the ground for our confidence that, when we claim those rights, and when we exercise them, we do not have to fear the consequences, because we are a people who exercise our rights in the fear of God.
“This means that as American citizens, we can have confidence in our capacity, ability and character to take care of our own families. We can trust ourselves to raise our own children, to direct our own schools, to run our own communities and states, to do honest business together, and to generally take care of the things that need to be done for our nation and its people.” —Alan Keyes
Last night, I picked up my pre-ordered copy of “Furthermore” by Jars of Clay, their 2-disc studio/stage compilation. Faithfully ripped via iTunes, I’m now listening to the studio disc, mostly re-recordings (as opposed to remixes), with 3 new tunes.
One of my favorite tunes from their last album, “The Eleventh Hour,” is the title track, and the re-recording of that song is fabulous, all acoustic. A decidedly different take of “Liquid” is intensely introspective and worshipful, causing one to take pause even in the middle of work.
A solid addition to anyone’s JoC library. [alternate purchase link]
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior, who died for the sins of the world.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” —Luke 2:1-14
“It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its Mighty Founder was a child Himself.” —Charles Dickens
“May the Father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us in all our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.” —George Washington
“Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this [Independence] day? Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior?” —John Quincy Adams
“A young man whose father is a carpenter grows up working in his father’s shop. He has no formal education. He owns no property of any kind. One day he puts down his tools and walks out of his father’s shop. He starts preaching on street corners and in the nearby countryside. Walking from place to place, preaching all the while even though he is in no way an ordained minister, he never gets farther than an area perhaps 100 miles wide at the most. He does this for three years. Then he is arrested, tried and convicted. There is no court of appeal so he is executed at age 33 along with two common thieves. Those in charge of his execution roll dice to see who gets his clothing—the only possessions he has. His family cannot afford a burial place so he is interred in a borrowed tomb. End of story?
No, this uneducated, propertyless young man who preached on street corners for only three years who left no written word has for 2000 years had a greater effect on the entire world than all the rulers, kings and emperors, all the conquerors, the generals and admirals, all the scholars, scientists and philosophers who ever lived—all put together. How do we explain that? …Unless he really was what he said he was.” —Ronald Reagan
Merry Christmas, one and all!
The world’s shaking with the love of God
Great and glorious, let the whole earth sing
And all you ever do is change the old for new
People we believe that
God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we’ll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My glorious!
Clouds are breaking, heaven’s come to earth
Hearts awakening let the church bells ring
And all you ever do is change the old for new
People we believe that
God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we’ll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My glorious!
—Smith/Garrard © 2000 / Delirious?